Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind on October 20 spelt out its stand that Babri Masjid belonged to Muslims and the community was duty bound to struggle for getting possession through peaceful and judicial process. The decision taken by its national executive said “there is room for challenging the verdict in the Supreme Court” and decided to set up a committee saying many aspects of the judgment require a deep study. Maulana Mahmood Madani along with newly elected Jamiat president Maulana Qari Mohammad Usman, senior leaders Niaz Ahmad Farooqui, Maulana Moiezuddin and Shakeel Ahmad Syed would be members of the committee, which has been authorised to decide the future course of action in consultation with senior lawyers. Despite setting up of the committee, the Jamiat clearly stated that it deplores the verdict of the Allahabad High Court as it did not fulfil the “requirements of justice and was very much against expectations”. The resolution adopted by the executive stated: “Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind unequivocally declares that once a mosque is built according to the principle of Islamic sharia it remains a mosque forever. No forceful or coercive occupation can change the status of a mosque. Therefore Muslims can never give up their claim to any part of the mosque which has been used as a mosque uninterruptedly for the last four hundred years.”